Does Virginia need to change its ethics laws for office-holders? If so, how?

What is your view of the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia?

What is your view of Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage?

Why are you the best choice for the office you're seeking?

As a candidate, what’s your “big idea?”

Did we miss an issue in the questions above that’s important to you? What is it and what’s your take?

Mark D Obenshain:

I’m proud to have the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which cited my commitment to policies that will grow jobs and our economy here in Virginia. Small business fuels Virginia’s economy, and with Virginia ranking 13th in the number of business startups, we’re a state that encourages and welcomes innovators. We do that with low taxes and a manageable regulatory environment—factors that make us one of the top states in which to do business.

But we can’t rest on our laurels. We’ve added over 1,400 new state regulations over the past four years, and there are almost 300 sections of Administrative Code titles pertaining to workplace regulation. Starting a business will never be easy, but what Virginia’s small businesses cannot afford—and what we cannot allow—are burdensome and unnecessary regulations that force businesses to jump through hoops, impose unnecessary costs on job creators, and choke innovation. Virginia’s small businesses led—and are still leading—the recovery. We owe it to small business owners and their employees not to stand in the way.

We need to look at better ways to identify and evaluate costly and economically significant regulations, and to actively review and roll back unnecessary regulations. To that end, I support the creation of a Blue Ribbon Commission that draws upon the expertise of business owners and pro-business organizations to identify overly burdensome regulations and propose ways to simplify governmental processes, bringing the true experts to the table: the small businessmen and –women who face these regulatory hurdles every day. And as Attorney General, I will work with state agencies to ensure that any new regulations are rational and as unobtrusive as possible, ensuring that small business owners can focus on what they do best: creating economic opportunity for all Virginians.

Mark D Obenshain:

The General Assembly voted to condition Medicaid on the implementation of much-needed reforms, several of which require waivers from the federal government. As Attorney General, I will work with state agencies and the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission in reviewing regulations and ensuring that these reforms are achieved and the General Assembly’s mandate is carried out. With one in seven Virginians already enrolled in Medicaid and reimbursement rates perilously low, the reforms embodied in the General Assembly’s three-stage reform blueprint are critically important for health care providers, patients, and taxpayers alike.

Mark D Obenshain:

A good education opens doors and offers a lifetime of opportunity for our young people. Virginia has some of the best public schools in the nation and regularly ranks among the top states in achievement. We cannot, however, afford to become complacent. Tragically, moreover, we also have some schools that simply aren't working for their students, for parents, or for their communities. We have a constitutional and a moral obligation to provide a high quality education to all students, which is why I’ve championed education reform in the Senate.

I know that there’s no silver bullet. We need to take a comprehensive approach to reform. I carried successful legislation to provide teachers with the support they need to take their efforts to the next level. We need to give teachers more flexibility in the classrooms, get parents more involved in their children’s education, and find innovative ways to recruit great teachers. I also believe that it should be easier to start charter and laboratory schools, and that we should be open to innovative educational models that prove their worth, whatever their source.

Mark D Obenshain:

Virginians deserve to be able to have confidence in their government, and recent events have shaken that confidence. As Attorney General, I will advocate for legislation capping gifts at $100 per person and extending the cap and reporting requirements to cover members of an elected official’s household as well, and I will ensure that all members of the Attorney General’s office—not just lawyers—receive ethics training. I have also proposed legislation capping contingency fees for outside counsel and providing transparency in these contracts. And whether or not the General Assembly acts, I will be the chief personnel officer in the Attorney General’s office, and I will implement and abide by these reforms with or without a legislative mandate.

Mark D Obenshain:

I am a strong believer in property rights, which is why I patroned the Virginia Property Rights Amendment, ratified last year by 74% of Virginia voters. I also recognize, however, the state’s obligation to ensure public safety, and I cannot support lifting the moratorium until all of the attendant safety concerns have been adequately addressed. The burden of proof is on those who wish to lift the moratorium, and while I would love to see these new jobs come to Virginia, I do not believe that burden has been met.

Mark D Obenshain:

My opponent and I both voted for Virginia’s marriage amendment, both clearly believing it to be constitutional. As Attorney General, however, it will not be my duty to weigh in on the wisdom of this constitutional amendment, but rather to defend it against legal challenges, as is the duty of the Attorney General in all cases where a good faith basis exists to defend state law. My opponent has stated that he will poll his office before deciding whether or not to defend the marriage amendment. Failure to defend Virginia law would be an injection of partisanship into the office, substituting his own judgment for that of the majority of Virginians who voted to ratify the amendment. As Attorney General, I will defend Virginia’s laws whether I agree with them or not, because I do not believe that an Attorney General should have the power to single-handedly kill a duly-enacted law by failing to defend it.

Mark D Obenshain:

I have the experience and qualifications necessary to lead the Office of the Attorney General and allow it to fulfill its potential in all areas of its responsibility. Throughout this campaign, I’ve focused on my plans to keep our communities safe and promote job creation and economic development. As the former managing partner of one of Virginia’s fifty largest law firms, with nearly 70 employees, and a founding partner of a new firm with nearly fifty employees and offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg, I have the experience to manage the Attorney General’s office, which is, in effect, one of Virginia’s largest law firms.

As a state senator, I have a reputation for getting results, and have taken the lead on important public safety initiatives—which is how I earned the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police. I believe that my experience as a successful litigator and legislator makes me the most qualified candidate for the office, and that my priorities are also Virginia’s priorities. I’m committed to ensuring that Virginia remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family, and I look forward to earning Virginians’ votes on November 5th.

Mark D Obenshain:

My top priority as Attorney General will be keeping our communities safe. I’ve talked about a lot of big ideas during the course of the campaign, from making human trafficking a stand-alone offense to establishing an Elder Abuse Prevention Center in the Attorney General’s office and deploying child exploitation prosecutors across Virginia to better assist in the prosecution of child exploitation across Virginia. As a legislator, I’ve worked to protect victims of domestic violence, crack down on sexual offenders and repeat drug dealers, and provide new tools for law enforcement and prosecutors.

And I’ll keep talking about those sorts of issues, because while my opponent talks about “taking partisanship out of the Attorney General’s office,” I actually believe in it. While he talks about picking and choosing which laws to defend and making game time decisions about whether or not to fulfill the duties spelled out in the oath of office, my big idea is a simple one: staying focused on the first priority of the Office of the Attorney General, partnering with law enforcement and prosecutors to keep Virginians safe.

Mark D Obenshain:

The world around us is changing—and some of our laws haven’t kept pace. Increasingly, children face threats that were all but inconceivable when many of our laws are written, and out-of-date Code is holding us back in the effort to protect children from predators. One girl in five is a victim of child sexual abuse of some kind, one in five teens have received an unwanted sexual solicitation online, and 1.6% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 are victims of rape or sexual assault.

I’ve proposed deploying child exploitation prosecutors regionally across Virginia, making recruitment for child pornography a separate felony, protecting children in homes with child pornography, and ensuring that all localities are equipped to provide services to sexually abused children. These are the sorts of crimes that no one wants to think about, but as a father and as your next Attorney General, I’m committed to making sure that we have the laws and resources in place to protect children from abuse and exploitation.

Mark R. Herring:

Throughout my career in the state Senate I have worked tirelessly to ensure Virginia’s business climate remains strong and that Virginia remains among the best states for business in America. I have worked with business groups throughout the state and have earned the support of business organizations like the Virginia Realtors, the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Virginia Technology Council because they know I am the best candidate to keep Virginia moving forward.

I’ll also work to rebuild public trust in our state government. The recent Consol and Star Scientific scandals have made it seem as though businesses can gain an edge by bestowing lavish gifts and perks. I’ll ban gifts over $100 and punish politicians who break the rules. We can't legislate honesty, but we can make it harder and more costly to do the wrong thing, and as Attorney General I’ll work to restore ethics and integrity to state government.

Finally, I’ll make it a point to consult and cooperate with business and community leaders, ensuring that my office is aware of and responsive to the problems and concerns that affect businesses and workers in their everyday lives.

Mark R. Herring:

Unlike my opponent, I stood with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and business leaders throughout the state to strongly support Medicaid expansion and Medicaid reforms. Those reforms will put our existing Medicaid program on a sustainable financial footing, ensuring that it remains viable for years to come and clearing the way for actual expansion.

Expansion will create an estimated 30,000 jobs, produce billions of dollars’ worth of new economic activity and ensure that our federal taxes are spent here in Virginia and not in other states. Expansion will also help to control premiums for employers and individuals who pay for private plans — all while extending coverage to up to 400,000 currently uninsured Virginians.

Mark R. Herring:

Our first step should be to fully fund our schools. We also need to recruit and retain the best teachers in the nation by offering a salary that meets or exceeds the national average.

As Attorney General, I’ll work with legislators to give Virginia’s teachers the resources they need to help our children succeed. I see education as a crucial investment in our Commonwealth and our children’s future. I’ll continue to oppose efforts that siphon funds away from public schools, and I’ll keep fighting to compensate our teachers at a competitive rate. I’ll continue working to expand STEM education, which prepares young people for twenty-first century jobs, and I’ll work with legislators to expand access to both pre-school and college — ensuring that children have both a head start and a chance to build on their K-12 education.

If elected, I’ll maintain the same open-door policy that I’ve had as a state Senator. In cases where the office’s actions impact education, I’ll work closely and collaboratively with school officials, parents and teachers, and other stakeholders to help craft policies that are fair, far-sighted, and in the best interests of our children.

Mark R. Herring:

I strongly believe that we need to reform and strengthen our ethics and disclosure laws, which is why I am the only candidate in this race to have introduced a comprehensive plan for reform (www.herringforag.com/ethicsplan) — including a ban on gifts and stricter punishments for politicians who break the law.

My plan also calls for an independent ethics commission with strong oversight authority. I have called for a gift ban for legislators, statewide officeholders, and their immediate family members. I want to end the use of campaign cash for personal expenses, and I support efforts to increase public access to government and disclosure records. I’ve also called for stiffer penalties for those who violate these laws.

My opponent has chosen to accept a $15,000 campaign contribution from Consol, the out-of-state energy company that has embroiled the Attorney General’s office in scandal. He said Ken Cuccinelli should weigh the “political calculus” when deciding whether or not he should return the lavish gifts he received from the CEO of Star Scientific. And Senator Obenshain voted to kill a gift ban in committee.

The Star Scientific and Consol scandals have shaken Virginians’ trust in government, and we can’t restore that trust without serious reforms. These would be a good start.

Mark R. Herring:

I oppose lifting the moratorium. The health and safety of the public should be of paramount concern when considering issues such as this and I am simply not convinced that uranium mining can be conducted in Southside Virginia in a safe and responsible way. I take very seriously the concerns raised by citizens, business leaders and local officials in both Southside and Hampton Roads who have expressed to me their fears with regard to the potential for negative public health impacts, particularly water supply contamination.

Mark R. Herring:

I support marriage equality, and I will use the powers of the Attorney General’s office to promote equality. My opponent would follow a different path. As a state Senator, he has consistently opposed legislation that would to protect gay and lesbian Virginians from discrimination in state employment, and he has refused to commit to non-discrimination in his own office.

Mark R. Herring:

Right now, there is something fundamentally wrong in the Attorney General’s office. There has been way too much politics and not enough problem solving. My opponent, Senator Mark Obenshain, would be a continuation of Ken Cuccinelli’s approach.

I have a different idea about the job of Attorney General. I believe the law, not extremist politics, is the essence of the job. I’m running for Attorney General to take politics out of the office and to put the law, and Virginia families, first. As Attorney General, I will build on my long record as a pragmatic problem solver — not an ideological extremist. I’ll refocus the office on protecting Virginians and keeping our families and communities safe – continuing my work to prevent sexual and domestic violence, and cracking down on sexual predators and human trafficking.

I will support our veterans and servicemembers and their families. I will continue my work to protect seniors from financial fraud and abuse. I will stand up and defend people’s civil rights.

And the women of Virginia will know that, if I’m elected Attorney General, they can trust me and count on me to defend their privacy and their right to make their own health care decisions.

Finally, I will return the highest ethical standards to the office of Attorney General.

Mark R. Herring:

This shouldn’t be a “big idea,” but I will protect a woman’s right to make her own decisions about her health care.

What we’ve seen over the last four years is an attack on women’s rights, led by Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain. We’ve seen Cuccinelli and Obenshain try to tell women what they can and can’t do with their bodies.

Women in Virginia can trust that I will protect their right to make their own health care decisions and as Attorney General, I will get politicians in Richmond out of women’s personal and private decisions regarding their own health care.

Mark R. Herring:

Above and beyond my efforts to take politics out of the Attorney General’s office, I want to:

Protect Virginia Families — This should be a top priority for any Attorney General, but it hasn’t been under Ken Cuccinelli. We need to confront emerging threats to our children’s safety. I’ll continue my efforts to combat designer drugs and prevent domestic and sexual violence, and I’ll crack down on sexual predators and human trafficking.

Protect Civil Rights — As the Commonwealth’s chief legal officer, the Attorney General has a special responsibility to protect Virginians’ rights. If elected, I will strive to repair the damage that has been done to those rights over the last four years. I’ll fight for equality, defend voters’ access to the ballot box, and work to keep government out of the kinds of private, personal decisions where it has no rightful place.

Mark D Obenshain:

As Attorney General, I’ll focus on promoting safe communities and a strong economy, because you can’t have one without the other.

Mark D Obenshain:

Attorney and State Senator

Mark D Obenshain:

I grew up in a political family. When my father died shortly after securing the Republican Party’s nomination for U.S. Senator in 1978, I had to grow up fast. Raised by a single mother who motivated me to succeed, I studied economics and history at Virginia Tech, then attended the Washington & Lee University School of Law. I’ve practiced law for 26 years, handling more than a hundred constitutional cases and well over a hundred jury trials over the course of my career. And I’ve served in the Senate of Virginia since 2004, where I’ve worked closely with prosecutors and law enforcement to keep our communities safe, for which I’ve received the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association’s Legislator of the Year Award, the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Champion of Justice Award, and the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Mark D Obenshain:

I grew up in Richmond with one set of grandparents from the Eastern Shore and another from Blacksburg. Throughout my life, we have spent a great deal of time in both places. Our family loves nothing more than spending football weekends in Blacksburg and summer vacations fishing and relaxing on the Chesapeake Bay. I am a voracious reader and a fearless do-it-yourself tinkerer and handyman. On one occasion, late one evening and much to my wife Suzanne's consternation, I set about modifying a set of built-in bookshelves to accommodate a new TV. When I pulled out the nail affixing a support to the wall, I found that the builders had driven the nail into a water pipe. I actually didn't discover this until I removed the nail and a continuous jet of water shot 8 feet across our family room. It will be a long time before my family lets me forget this incident. After the plumber fixed the pipe, I must say that the remodeled bookshelves looked marvelous. With one child just out of college and another halfway through, Suzanne and I now share the house with two rescued animals — a rather large white cat we adopted as a stray and a sweet six year old golden retriever named Jessie whom we adopted after her first owner, a hunting dog trainer, learned that she was hopelessly gun-shy and she failed out of hunting school.

Mark D Obenshain:

Suzanne and I were married 26 years ago in 1987, the week after I graduated from law school and the week before beginning to study for the Bar Exam. I had no job and lots of student debt so we honeymooned in a charming cinder block cottage on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. After the rigors of a statewide campaign — I think a second honeymoon is in order.

Mark R. Herring:

I want to take the politics out of the office and put the law – and Virginians – first.

Mark R. Herring:

Attorney

Mark R. Herring:

I have been a Virginia resident for most of my life. I graduated from a Virginia public high school and went on to study economics and foreign affairs as an undergraduate at UVA. I later received an MA in foreign affairs from UVA, then studied law at the University of Richmond.

After graduating, I established a law practice in Leesburg; I am now a principal at Herring & Turner, P.C., where I work in the areas of business and corporate matters, land use and zoning, civil litigation, and municipal law.

In 1999, I was elected to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, representing the Leesburg District; in 2006, I was elected to the Virginia State Senate, where I am proud to represent voters from Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. I was re-elected in 2007 and 2011.

Mark R. Herring:

I grew up in Loudoun County, where I was raised by a single mom, and I worked my way through college by working in construction and restaurants. A few years later, I earned a degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. After that, I had a lot of great opportunities; the best one was to return to my hometown to raise my family and establish a law practice there. That was 23 years ago. My wife Laura and I have been married for 24 years, and we have two children. Our daughter, Peyton, is a student at UVA; our son, Tim, is a senior in high school. For the last several years, Laura and I have been working to restore an older home in the historic downtown of Leesburg.